Trying to Impress
by Manny.sg
Summary: Set after Panther's Quest. After they get back to the Avengers mansion, Tony and T'Challa talk things out.


Home. They are finally home.

Sore, bruised, exhausted, and Tony's ears are still ringing from the fight with Klaw, but home.

Everyone ran up to their rooms as soon as they walked through the mansion's doors. Tony envies every single one of them. Not that he can blame them for wanting to relax after the day they had in Wakanda. Cleaning up after villains is never fun, and making sure HYDRA didn't get any of the Vibranium was not a good task. He can still feel the energy of it inside of him. If there is one thing he's sure of, it's that he's happy HYDRA did not get any of it. God only knows what they could've done with the amount they prepared for moving.

Now, all he wants at this moment is to go up to his own room and take a hot shower then sleep for a week, but he knows that would be impossible for two reasons:

One: Pepper would be up and early in the morning to come and get him for another meeting with the council. Another one where he'll try not to sleep as they talk, making him the receiving end of Pepper's evil eye as she takes notes anyway, god bless her soul.

Two: T'Challa is still standing in the living room. Tony can see him staring at the screen, which if he may add, is off. Not that the view is bad. He has his back turned to him, giving him a good view of everything. He can enjoy it for a little while, right?

So, sleeping for a week is impossible and the likelihood of taking a shower in the next ten minutes are slim because (other than the fact that he's been staring at T'Challa for the past minute and he's pretty sure he knows he's there) no one ever accused Tony of being a bad host.

Maybe Pepper did once. And Rhodey another time. Never mind that, no one takes what they say seriously… Sometimes.

Tony shakes his head and walks into the room. T'Challa doesn't acknowledge him.

Tony frowns at his back. After this day, you'd think he'd be sitting in his room doing whatever he usually does when he's not breaking into other people's homes or hacking their systems. Yes, he's still pissed about that. Not because T'Challa hacked his personal server, no, because he actually _managed_to do so.

Next on the to-do-list:

-Re-write all softwares.

-Ban T'Challa from going into any room with a computer… No, that's ridiculous; the whole mansion is monitored by JARVIS…

"Is there something on your mind, Stark?"

Tony did not jump. He did not. He just skipped a step on his way to the mini bar. He needs a drink, and he's earned one after today's events. "You want a drink?"

"No, thank you."

Always so polite even when he's being a total ass, it's infuriating. "So," Tony says while pouring on a glass for himself. "Aren't you going to apologize?"

"For what?"

"My jet. And almost getting us killed for starters," Tony turns to look at him at this point. T'Challa is standing in the same spot, only this time he's facing Tony, not the screen.

"May I remind you, again, that that was your own fault, Stark." his voice is still as accusing as it was before "I gave you the coordinates you should take. And I specifically told you to avoid that area. You _chose_to ignore my advice and showoff with your aircraft."

"Hey, that wasn't showing off."

Tony glares at him because it wasn't. Honestly.

T'Challa's only response is one of his eyebrows going up. Never trust a man who can say so much with just an eyebrow. They're distracting.

"Alright fine," Tony grumbles and sits on the big red couch in front of both T'Challa and the black screen. He should turn it on just to annoy him. "Maybe a little showing off, but that doesn't mean my jet is isn't the best there is. Your people cheated with the Vibranium."

Logically speaking, a country that has a Vibranium mountain in the middle of it. A very advanced technology and weapons. They use Vibranium in almost everything they make. No wonder they were able to shoot down the Quinjet.

T'Challa actually rolls his eyes. Tony should feel offended by this. "Using Vibranium is not cheating. However, I'm positive my people could have shot down your aircraft without needing it, Stark," ok that was definitely offensive.

"You're so full of yourself, Panther," He answers, taking a sip from the drink in his hand. He might need more by the end of this conversation.

"And you can't accept that maybe someone out there could out smart you or have better technology than yours, can you?"

Tony snorts, really now? This shows how much Panther knows about him but, to be fair, they've only met this morning. And ok yes, maybe he does feel that sometimes, but still. Who was Panther to say that? Again, they've only met this morning. He should point that out. "Please, I'm always on top of everything T'Challa," Tony says instead. "I don't need to be jealous or threaten by other people's works. But you're wrong, I do appreciate intelligence no matter what level it is. Hell, I even celebrate it. I'm sure you've heard of The Stark Expo? What am I saying, of course you have…"

"And yet, here you are, still, trying to impress me."

"… Even Justin Hammer is allowed to show up in it, and he's a walking disaster. I care for the future and I look for new ideas everyday. That's why…"

Suddenly it hits him. _Wait what?_ Impress _who?_

He looks up from his drink. T'Challa is still standing in the same spot he's been in since they got back. And with the same smirk and looks he's been giving Tony the whole way back home. He still doesn't know what it means.

"What… Now wait a minute," Tony says standing up. "Who says anything about _me_ trying to impress _you_? If there is any impressing going on, it should be the other way around, you know. I mean, I'm _me_ and you're… _you_. Of course, you're a king and all, but…"

"Stark, shut up."

Tony does and sits back down. Why is he giving up so quickly? He watches as T'Challa walks slowly then stops a few steps away from him. The man takes his title very seriously.

"I also can appreciate intelligence," T'Challa's voice lost its accusing tone which, in Tony's book, is both good and alarming. "I can see you have a brilliant mind. I saw your ongoing work…"

"When you hacked my systems."

"… Your latest project is very impressive. I could see you were stuck on some of the details, and you could add more to the design to make it better, but nevertheless, it was worth the time I spent in reading it after I finished my research on the team."

"I'm not sure if I should take that as an insult or a complement. Should I be offended?"

He's been asking himself this question the whole _damn_day.

"You can take it any way you like."

And of course, Panther will not give him a straight answer. He's still standing with his hands behind his back, but without the smirk this time. For a second Tony thinks that maybe, if he did something stupid, like pulling T'Challa to sit next to him, would he make a point? He highly doubts it. Not with the way T'Challa was looking and talking. So he goes for the classic wave your arm around.

"You just praised my tech, and by extend my genius, then said they were flawed. All in one breath. So yeah, a bit lost here."

"I was merely stating what I have seen."

"And hold on," Tony leans forward using his drink to point at T'Challa. "was that an offer to help me with it?"

He shrugs. "Would you like me to assist you, Stark?"

"Are you asking to join in?"

"I will gladly accept if you are asking for my help."

They stare at each other for a moment then T'Challa shakes his head and smiles.

Now, that's weird. Tony can take angry, insulting, infuriating, and pain in the ass Panther, but not smiley Panther. A smiling Panther is a very good look on him. Tony stands, he's getting suspicious and a bit uncomfortable now.

"What are you playing at, T'Challa?" He frowns. Tony knows no one can blame him for not trusting someone who broke into his home, swept the floor with him, literally, and then left him and his team to die in the hands of that same man's people. Yes, Tony did agree to have him on the team, but T'Challa still has not earned his trust. Even if he did get other parts of Tony interested. He's _not_going there though.

"I am not playing at anything. I simply say what I think and believe is true," T'Challa walks up to him saying. "I might be impressed by your mind, Stark," he stops directly in front of Tony. "But it will take a lot more to interest me in other ways."

This is getting way too uncomfortable for Tony. Usually he doesn't mind people he's interested in invading his personal space, but right now, with his mind racing to all the possibility of what T'Challa means with his last sentence, he really doesn't want to think about it. Tony keeps on processing the words from every angle, but with his personal space still being invaded and with those eyes still staring at him, waiting for his reply, he keeps getting the same results.

In the future, he'll gloat about how he didn't make a fool of himself this night. He didn't grab T'Challa and kiss him, for example, and that's a big victory. Instead, he smiles.

"And the apology?"

"Not going to happen."

"Fair enough," he nods. "I can live with that."

T'Challa smiles and steps away. "Good."

"I've got JARVIS to prepare a room for you since you're one of us now and all. I can show you if you like, or let JARVIS show you."

T'Challa shakes his head. "Not tonight. I have to go to the Wakandan Embassy to make sure everything is taken care of in Wakanda while I'm here."

"Yes, of course."

Tony fidgets with his drink for a few seconds. What is he doing? They're both grown men. And T'Challa is still standing close enough to touch, not that Tony would touch him, it's just a thought. He clears his throat. "How about dinner then?" then takes a sip from the forgotten drink in his hand. "You know, to celebrate your coronation and all. I tell you, for a society who loves tradition, your people didn't make a big fuss."

"I would like that very much," T'Challa looks thoughtful for a second. "Under one condition."

"What's that?"

"I choose where we go."

"What… It's my treat. Never heard of the saying 'I'm buying, I'm picking' or something like that?" What, he's allowed to make things up when his mind is not working on top speed.

"No I have not. And I never said it was not your treat. I will pick the place and you can pick the bill."

He snorts. Of course T'Challa would do that. "Alright fine, deal."

"I shall see you tomorrow night, then. Good night, Tony."

"Good night, T'Challa."

He watches him go. This might actually lead to something. Hopefully something good.

Tony would say his first impression on T'Challa is still correct: an arrogant asshole. But Tony can relate to that. What happened that morning, T'Challa did what he thought was right at the time. He did it to take back what's rightfully his, and to save his people from a bad ending. Yes, Tony can relate to that. And he did learn a long time ago to not judge people from his first impression. A lot of those people surprised him by turning out to be the complete opposite. Some were the best people he's ever met, and others were there his whole life, but he never truly seen who they were. Both kinds played a huge part in making him who he is now.

So, now T'Challa might do that too. One can only hope.


End file.
